Power Play
by alixxblack
Summary: After Hogwarts, Ginny is doing a bit of work here and there until the opportunity to try out for the Holyhead Harpies arises quite unexpectedly. However, something does feel quite right when the team manager asks to meet with her privately.


**House: Ravenclaw**

 **Year: Year 3 Stand-in**

 **Category: Themed**

 **Prompt: Blaise Zabini**

 **WC: 3738**

* * *

Ginny checks her bag nervously, worrying whether she has done enough to make the team. She's been working at the joke shop with George and Angelina until she figures out what she wants to do with her career. Sometimes she even helps Luna with writing for the Quibbler for a spot of change as well. It was a relief when Angelina said that she'd heard from Alicia Spinnet about the Holyhead Harpies having tryouts. There was a Chaser position available, she'd mentioned, and Ginny knew that this was her chance.

Not everyone thought the best of her skills as a Quidditch player, at least not at first. It has always been an uphill battle to prove herself in the shadow of her brothers, most of them having been Quidditch players themselves. Charlie was a seeker and the captain; Fred and George were beaters, and Ron became the keeper eventually. Between the four of them, and herself being a chaser, they were only two players shy of a full team. Well, actually three people short now…

Turning her attention from those concerns,straightening her back, she checks her bag and sees that she has everything she needs. Pulling at her spandex shorts, Ginny walks down the hall towards the fireplace in the main lobby. She almost doesn't hear his grating voice behind her. "Miss Weasley! Hold on!"

Pausing, Ginny weighs the value of listening to the team manager while holding her tongue. She knew before coming that Blaise Zabini had found himself at the head of the Harpies. It nearly put her off to trying out but Ginny had heard the whispers. She was aware that some part of him, no matter how perverse and primal it was, did not hate her. It meant that she had a chance.

How often will she really have to deal with him if she makes the team anyway? The manager handles the administrative stuff but the captain handles everything else. Ginny was willing to put up with it. Besides all of that, and his friendship with Malfoy at Hogwarts, Blaise hadn't been totally awful. "Yes?"

Zabini races over with his lanky body. Honestly, it's a wonder how he moves so smoothly or ever played Quidditch with that long body of his; lean arms wriggling no differently than a noodle. Someone might say he moves fluidly and gracefully but she thinks he looks silly.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out for a few drinks. I was very impressed with your performance today," Zabini says, his brilliant white teeth standing out against his dark skin. She has to admit that his smile is dazzling: perfect teeth and symmetrically curled lips. He smiles with every feature on his face, too, so it's convincing enough. "I know you're dating Harry and all, so it's absolutely professional."

Ginny doesn't believe him for a second.

"Are you taking anyone else out for drinks, Mr. Zabini?" she questions, reflecting on the try out session. Had she been impressive? Some girls definitely outperformed her in a few of the activities, but she wasn't awful. There was a chance, even in her worried mind, that she was good enough to make it.

"Please, call me Blaise. I'm sure you'll be joining us, anyway, so there's no need for the formalities. Wouldn't you agree, Ginevra?" his voice is silky smooth. She barely recognizes her full name from his lips. It sounds foreign.

And it sets alarms off in her head. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. When are you going to announce the final decisions?" The chaser position wasn't the only position open. One of the beaters had apparently decided to leave unexpectedly. Her contract was nearly up for negotiation, someone had said, and so she decided to leave as soon as they went into their 'off' season.

"We try to owl within a few days. The captain and I are usually on the same page with potential players," Blaise breathes, looking pleased that she's agreed to go out with him for a casual drink. Realistically, Ginny will be obligated to menial meetings and gatherings anyway, so she tries to relax about it.

Ginny grins. "I'll look for the owl then?"

"Let's meet up for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. I'm going to Hogwarts to watch a game anyway. There's no harm in scouting for potential future players, wouldn't you agree?" Something in his eyes makes Ginny uneasy. Playing it as cool as possible, she offers her hand.

"Half one?"

"Perfect!"

Zabini walks away, showing his disinterest the second he looks away. It's mechanic. The unsettled feeling inside her grows and instead of using the floo, she apparates straight back home.

* * *

Angelina comes to dinner with George, and she asks how everything went. Ginny begins with the good before sliding into all of her doubts. "I wasn't the best, honestly, so I'm not sure why Zabini is trying to congratulate me so quickly."

"What do you mean?" Angelina asks, her brows furrowing and her features looking very sharp. Zabini had been on the Slytherin Quidditch team, so Angelina had played opposite of him just as she'd done. Neither woman can recall any positive memories of him.

"He's invited me for drinks tomorrow. Says he was impressed?" Both girls laugh. Angelina had been honest about the fact that she wasn't impressed the first time she'd seen Ginny on the pitch, but that she did always see potential. Surely, they agree, Zabini can see that too. In the same breath, Angelina questions it.

"Something about it feels off," she thinks. "Is he doing that for everyone?"

"I don't think so," Ginny mutters from behind the biscuit she's nibbling. "Do you think there's something more going on?"

Angelina shrugs. "I've heard how he talks about women. More than once Alicia has come around after a Harpy match complaining about how he treats the girls." This nearly sets Ginny off into a fit of rage. Of course he's not trying to be genuine by inviting her around to discuss specifics about her place on the team. This is a power play. Blaise wants her to show up for drinks only to hang it over her head! He'd eventually tell others about the meeting and skew it to look like she didn't earn her place on the team. Later he would probably force her to do anything he asked on the field as well.

Ginny sets her biscuit down and grabs Angelina's hand, her mind already racing. "Could Alicia nick a list of the players that tried out today?"

Angelina nods in reply.

"What are you two talking about?" Molly quips as she walks past the girls with other sides and more napkins. Neither tells her explicitly, and Ginny hadn't said anything to her family about the opening on the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team. She didn't want anyone getting excited or worked up about something that may not happen.

So Ginny says, "I came across a job opportunity. It was nothing, really."

"Nothing!" George caws from the other side of the table. Next to him is Harry, who is next to Ron. All three boys look over at her in surprise. Harry and Ron out of proper interest and George more in an appalled sort of fashion. "You've just tried out for a professional Quidditch team!"

Molly squeals in delight. Despite living at home, Ginny keeps to herself usually. Arthur looks up from his copy of the Daily Prophet and gives her a thumbs-up politely before looking to his wife to see if he can return to his article. Ginny appreciated how her father was always the calmer of the two, though excitable in his quirky different ways. "I hope you make it," he said after making eye contact with Molly.

"Why didn't you say, dear? I would've made your favorite to celebrate!" Ginny should have smiled or shown her appreciation but instead she stomps away rather abruptly. Angelina speaks in her place, though, and it's probably better that way because she'll be more level-headed about her reply.

"I think she wants to wait until they make an offer to her. Professional Quidditch is a beast, isn't it? I remember when Viktor Krum was Hogwarts. What a fuss he made." Everyone at the table groans and shares a story about Viktor from school. Arthur continues reading. Molly continues fussing. It is only a few minutes before things return to normal, everyone back to their own conversations.

Ginny and Angelina finish their meals quickly and leave the room unnoticed. As they're walking up the stairs towards her bedroom, they broach the topic again. "If Alicia can get me a list, I'd like to invite all of the others to out to drinks too. I want to turn the tables on him."

Angelina giggles, "A classic power shift, huh?"

"Who's to say this isn't the first time he's done this? What if he's doing this to the girls on the team already?" As she says this, though, she knows certainly that he's been at it. Zabini had been so convincing when they were talking to one another directly, but the second he broke eye contact - he was done. The exchange had checked a box off of his list. People like that only manipulate their power.

She's never wanted to have power, not over anyone else or anything else. Not really, at least. Ginny just can't stand feeling helpless or as if her fate isn't in her own hands. Knowing that other people may have felt that way at Zabini's hand made her hungry for justice. The only way to out his dirty tricks will be if Ginny strips him of his power.

"Do you mind if I come along?" Ginny asks once they're at the top of the stairs. Angelina shrugs, not knowing of any reason it would be a problem at all. They step into her bedroom and take ahold of each other's hands just before Angelina sets them off to Alicia's flat in Dorset.

* * *

Ginny is standing in front of the mirror in her bedroom. She knows what she's doing is right, but she knows she's trading off the possibility of having a career playing Quidditch by doing it. If she makes the team, any team, she wants it to be on the fact that she's earned it. Taking one final breath, she looks over her outfit: a green romper and a denim jacket.

It feels strange to want to wear team colors for a team she's not even playing for, a team that she's never actually preferred over the others. Ginny could be wearing her house colors from Hogwarts. Or blue, which usually looks quite nice with her skin. Green just felt right.

Glancing over to the clock, calm settles in her veins. Everyone agreed to arrive at The Three Broomsticks at precisely 1:29, which is only two minutes away. Fourteen of the other ladies replied that they would be there, and another dozen or so hadn't replied but could be showing up. Also, Ginny wasn't above inviting Luna.

Her thoughts are interrupted when Angelina and Alicia pop into her room very suddenly. Long damaged by the trauma of the war, Ginny spins around with her wand at the ready. Both women throw their hands straight into the air with frowns. There's no need for them to explain, defend, or ask. They just know. "Are you ready then?"

Angelina offers her hand to Ginny and she accepts it steadily. It takes only a few seconds for them to disappear from the Burrow and appear outside of The Three Broomsticks. A crowd has already formed, the other ladies waiting for her to show up. Only there are more people than she had invited – by quite a bit.

Alicia nudges her. "I may have sent a few messages myself. Zabini hasn't made many friends in the Quidditch League."

Thankful for the support, Ginny smiles gently. Without warning, Hermione walks up with arms crossed, shaking her head. She wasn't at dinner the night before, probably from working late at the Ministry. "You could have asked me to send someone from the Prophet, you know."

All four girls laugh together. Angelina explains that once word got out that Blaise Zabini was up to no good, a lot of ladies in the Quidditch League were emboldened to stand against the abuse of power. Team Managers aren't always known for being their compassion towards the players. Hermione motions towards the door. "We're ready when you are, Ginny."

Instead of twenty or thirty women coming around to see the dirty deals that Zabini planned to make, now there's nearly a hundred people waiting for Ginny to unmask a problem that she never considered real until just yesterday. Before going inside she gives the only direction she can think of,

"The other girls who tried out should come in after me, and anyone wanting to report it should come in after that. I don't care about the order once they're inside."

Hermione nods before wandering off to start spreading the word, most likely. Angela and Alicia each hug her briefly before gently pushing her towards the entrance of The Three Broomsticks. With a deep breath, she waves the door open, smoothing the ruffles of the romper at her waist as she goes.

Blaise is sitting at a table tucked away upstairs. He's been watching the door, although not closely, as she's nearly to the stairs when he stands and calls out her name. "Ginevra, I was worried you wouldn't show!"

She grinds her teeth at the sound of her name from his tongue. "Ginny," she corrects, though she's not totally excited about him calling her that either. In fact, she'd just prefer that he didn't call her anything. Better yet, if he shut his mouth permanently. Now isn't the time to lose her patience, though, so she smiles until she is at the top of the stairs. He greets her with a hug. Ginny resists the urge to shake away the discomfort of his touch. When she sits, he wastes no time starting a conversation.

"I'll be talking with Gwenog tonight but she mentioned you by name when I caught her in the hall after we chatted. The position is yours. There are just a few formalities we need to address before it's official." Everything he says comes quickly, yet he seems languid when he's talking. Zabini isn't at all worried about the danger of their private meeting. What reason did he have to suspect anything?

Ginny grins, "This is so exciting! Might I ask what Ms. Jones said about me? I was quite nervous afterwards that I hadn't performed well enough."

Zabini changes the subject, telling her that he believes she'd rather hear it from Gwenog's mouth directly. Ginny tries to disagree but he skims past her desire to know now by telling her how lovely she looks in green. "Team colors," he notes with a glint in his eye, his gaze settles over her chest for far longer than she prefers. It makes her wonder if Harry has heard anything about today.

"I couldn't help myself, really," she adds playfully.

An order of butterbeer arrives and Blaise picks which mug he wants, choosing the one on Ginny's side of the table. He mumbles something about how full the glass is, though the amount seems indiscernible to her. Still, she allows it and pulls her drink closer, though never actually lifting it for a sip.

Silence nearly penetrates their conversation before Ginny blurts out the obvious question on her mind, the one that has caused her to make such a fuss over this meeting. "Are you meeting with anyone else? You needed a beater too."

"No, only you," Blaise says, watching her over the rim of his drink.

"Why exactly?" Ginny says, pushing her drink away now. Arms crossing lazily at her waist, she leans back in her chair to await his answer. Unfortunately, he doesn't give one and checks his watch instead. A few chimes indicate people are entering and exiting The Three Broomsticks. Ginny catches sight of Luna coming in with Hermione at her side. They both look up eagerly. "Why are you only meeting with me, Blaise?"

"Truthfully," he begins, "I just want you on the team. The Holyhead Harpies aren't a particularly good team. Our most talented players have chosen to leave or will be leaving soon. What I've been trying to do is make a team of pretty faces with decent enough skills to avoid being the lowest ranked team."

"You've got to be kidding," Ginny growls.

Zabini chokes on his drink. When he manages to swallow it down and dry his mouth, that annoyingly flashy grin of his appears over his lips. "Ginny, you're gorgeous, and you always have been. Meeting with you privately all but ensures that you'll accept the offer, and there will be an offer because Gwenog won't argue with my request."

Jerking forward with her hands in fists, Ginny is far angrier than she was this morning. This is honestly far worse than what she had imagined. Zabini doesn't know how to make the team better at the game so he's making them look better on the field. Fury threatens to loosen her tongue, but she bites it back. "And why won't she argue with you? What power do you have with a player who was here before you?"

"Gwenog has a poor reputation. I can make it worse." Zabini twists his head away from the entrance. There had been an incident where Gwenog Jones was arrested and questioned in relation to the disappearance of another player, but that had been before Zabini took over the team.

She begins to wonder how had he came to manage the team in the first place? Had he legitimately earned the job or was it another manipulation of power he'd sown out of stolen secrets from those with power he sought to thieve? Ginny holds her breath for a few seconds before letting it out slowly. "You weren't trying to groom me to accept this contract after all. I thought you wanted me to feel obligated to you, for me to owe you something."

Watching him in these moments of silence, something becomes very obvious to Ginny. None of this really mattered to him. Zabini's features are slack and disengaged. Absolutely nothing about the way his lips remain in a flat line across his face shows that he is embarrassed. Guilt cannot be found in his glittering eyes, either. Enraged beyond capacity, Ginny nearly flips the table as she jumps to her feet. She finds herself by his side quickly, grabbing his chin and turning it towards the crowd gathering below. These women, many of whom are victims of his misogyny, are witnessing his heinous truth.

"What's it like to lose the power you hold over people?" Ginny asks with a snarl. Satisfied as she is to know that at least he'll be fired from his position managing the Harpies, she hopes that he'll suffer the consequences of his actions properly. But she knows that people like him don't feel that way, and all he does is snicker at her commentary.

"I'm not afraid of losing my power, Ginny. The same cannot be said about you, can it?" Rising from his chair, still every bit the epitome of poise and professionalism, Blaise steps away from her with a smirk. He does linger for a moment, his lips twitching as if he has more to say, but he thinks better of it and descends the stairs. Several pictures are snapped of him, but he doesn't lose his control at all. Ginny is disgusted by him.

People like him, men like him, don't believe in good or bad reputations. Zabini can only see the hold that those labels have over his targets. She's left questioning why he thought he would get away with manipulating her into his scheme for the Harpies. Ginny only pulls away from her thoughts when the pub turns silent. Something indescribable hangs in the air.

Eyes begin shifting back towards her. Ginny stands there, dressed simply in her green dress, with her hair hanging at the sides of her face and her cheeks red from her fury. Zabini's intentions had been so much worse than she knew. This isn't just the kind of story that starts a conversation. No, what happened here today is something that will change the way things are done. Arguably, Ginny has just made history by confronting such a serious issue.

I'm not afraid of losing my power, Ginny thinks to herself. She is nothing like him. Zabini didn't need to get pictures taken of him or be gawked at when he left. Zabini chose to be in the middle of it. He is the sort of person that just wants to be seen. Ginny doesn't care either way. And yet, Ginny chose to be in the middle of this exposure.

The same cannot be said about you, can it? As people come rushing to her, applauding what she's done by sharing her experience with others. Finally, the conversation can begin about the issues exist in Quidditch League, especially for women.

Ginny sees now that she does have power of some sort, though not the way Zabini wants her to think. She refuses to fall victim to his leftover mind games. All she wanted today was for the women trying out for the Holyhead Harpies to have a fair and equal chance to earn their spots. Even if she doesn't get to be their new chaser, at least she knows the woman they hire deserves it.

Breaking free from the throng of people wishing to speak to her, Ginny nestles herself near a window. She's so lost in the scenery of people going about their days outside that she nearly doesn't hear her name being called again. "Miss Weasley!"

Ginny stalls a moment, half expecting a teacher to approach her, and finds herself surprised to see Gwenog Jones extending her hand. They spend a moment introducing themselves properly, and then the unexpected happens. "Being a Quidditch player is more than skills, you know. The Harpies need women who can hold their own on and off the field."

A flicker of joy sends Ginny's heart fluttering.

Gwenog grins wide, "You proved yourself, even before anyone was looking."

* * *

 **Acknowledgements:** This piece required several reads and plenty of feedback to make it what you've read today. A special thanks to the following users, and fellow Ravenclaw Housemates, who helped make sure this story was a good as it could possibly be: 2DaughtersofAthena (multiple times) and Celestia0909. A special thanks, also, to my best friend ouranose (Rosie, for short), who read the story and was brilliant for bouncing ideas with me from beginning to end. These folks are the absolute best, and quite talented authors themselves. I highly recommend their work!

Thanks for reading!


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